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Wife shot to death while calling 911

DENVER — A woman who called 911 saying her husband was hallucinating and may have eaten marijuana-infused treats was shot in the head while she was on the phone, authorities say. Kristine Kirk, 44, told

Kristine Kirk, 44, told Denver public safety dispatchers a little before 9:30 p.m. MT Monday that her husband was "talking about the end of the world and (saying) he wanted her to shoot him." The man then got a gun out of their safe and killed her as the dispatcher heard a scream and apparent gunshot, police said.

Richard Kirk, 47, is being held for investigation of first-degree murder. The death has triggered a homicide investigation and an internal police investigation on how officers and dispatchers handled the call.

Denver police did not release the 911 call or dispatch records, citing the ongoing investigation. Officers found Kristine Kirk dead with a gunshot wound to the head when they arrived.

At one point Richard Kirk told a Denver police officer without being questioned that he had killed his wife, according to the Denver Police Department's probable cause statement.

"I can't get into specifics about that, but we are looking at a marijuana aspect of this investigation," police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.

Kristine Kirk was on the phone with a dispatcher for about 12 minutes before she was shot, not an unusual amount of time because her call initially was not life threatening, police said. She had called the emergency number to get medical help for her husband, whom she said was scaring the couple's three small children.

The internal police investigation will focus on the time officers needed to respond to the home and whether dispatchers properly prioritized the woman's call, which is described in court paperwork as a "domestic disturbance," Jackson said.

Richard Kirk has one prior arrest for driving under the influence and careless driving, but police don't have a history of responding to domestic violence calls from the home.